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”USA lagging behind in race for the Arctic“

-There are five countries participating in the race for the Arctic, and we are lagging behind all of them, U.S. congressman Rick Larsen said in a congress hearing this week.

Location

-Nations from around the world are racing to protect their interests in the Arctic region, and right now the United States is in last place, Mr. Larsen said in the hearing, his website reports.

The hearing on the U.S. CoastGuard’s capabilities in the Arctic region was held in a subcommittee of the Sub-committee of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on the request of congressman Larsen.

US. Arctic strategy

The hearing comes as the White House is in the final phase of elaborating a national strategy programme on the Arctic. The programme, an inter-governmental document elaborated by the U.S. National Security Council, will be presented „very soon“, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard Thad Allen said in the hearing, Newsru.com reports.

 Icebreakers

Among the concrete proposals on how to intensify US initiatives in the Arctic is the construction of new icebreakers. Currently, the USA has only three heavy icebreakers in operation, two of which are approaching their lifetime service limit. Congressman Larsen underlines that U.S. authorities will need to strengthen its icebreaker fleet in order to make the country more active in the Arctic.

[…] despite the Coast Guard’s best efforts to prepare for future operations in the Arctic region, they do not currently have the assets and the capability necessary to perform the most basic of Arctic operations“

Military Arctic challenge

Participants in the hearing underlined the potential importance of the Arctic as energy region and for shipping. The Arctic was however also presented as a region of major military importance.

Mead Thredwell, the man who is heading the United States Arctic Research Commission said that an ice-free Arctic would mean the opening of new transport routes for military troop transports.

-The US has national interests worth billions, if not trillions of dollars, in the Arctic, Mr. Thredwell said in his testimony published on the website of the Arctic Research Commission.

USA remains the only of the five Arctic countries which as not ratified the UN Convention of the Sea.